Health Equity

For many, retirement is a time to pick up a hobby, travel the world, and spend time with family. Unfortunately for some Ontarians, the dream of “the golden years” will be just that – a dream. For Mary Hynes, a retired teacher living in the GTA, living paycheque-to-paycheque has meant having to compromise certain areas […]

Climate change is recognized as one of the most significant public health threats of this century. The coming decades will bring higher temperatures, stronger storms, and new patterns of air pollution. These changes will have a significant impact on peoples’ health and well-being. Drawing from examples in the United States and Canada, the discussion will […]

If you are injured in an accident in Ontario, you may face barriers in getting the supports you need. This is because the mix of private and public programs and insurance leads to variation in what you get depending on your income, employment, and how or where you were injured. Our patchwork of coverage falls […]

Clear communication is critical for the provision of safe, appropriate, and high-quality health care. With the growing linguistic diversity in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) more patients may prefer speaking another language with their health care provider than ever before, but access to language supports is limited. Without adequate support, navigating the health care system […]

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is one of the most linguistically diverse regions in Canada. Approximately 1 in 4 people do not speak an official language (English or French) at home, and 1 in 25 people do not speak an official language at all. Yet despite the region’s growing linguistic diversity, there is no guarantee […]

Language barriers are a significant challenge in ensuring equitable access to health care. Ontarians who are not proficient in, or unable to speak an official language (English or French), face inequities in health care settings. Language interpretation services are an intervention to promote language accessibility in health care. To better understand the effectiveness of professional […]

This policy brief highlights that Ontarians need access to health care in a language that they can understand. People in Ontario who do not speak English or French fluently have barriers when they try to access health care. Without adequate language support, the quality of their health care may be severely compromised. Access to trained […]

Wellesley Institute congratulates the Anti-Racism Directorate (ARD) on the release of the Draft Data Standards for the Identification and Monitoring of Systemic Racism. The Draft Standards are an important step forward towards the Anti-Racism Act’s goal of supporting the identification and monitoring racial disparities and inequities, and enabling remedial action towards the elimination of systemic […]

By: Anjana Aery & Anjum Sultana Recently Statistics Canada released its latest census data on ethnocultural diversity. Toronto remains one of the most multicultural cities in the world. The racialized population is growing. However, there has been a shift – a fundamental one – about who makes up Toronto and what this means for our […]

Wellesley Institute has prepared this paper as a contribution to the current discussions in Ontario about socio-demographic data and health services. In addition to our scan of Ontario’s policy environment and a review of the relevant literature, it reflects the valuable discussions that we have had with a range of persons knowledgeable about and interested […]

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Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

We would like to acknowledge this sacred land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. It has been a site of human activity for 15,000 years. This land is the territory of the Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. The territory was the subject of the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and Confederacy of the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes.

Today, the meeting place of Toronto is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work in the community, on this territory.

Revised by the Elders Circle (Council of Aboriginal Initiatives) on November 6, 2014

In the spirit of equity and inclusion, if we can improve on this statement, please contact us. Thank you.